Biography:

Rick Gonzales is a third generation resident of the Imperial Valley.  He comes from a family that has a long history of public service in the area.  His father, Juan Gonzales served for eighteen years on the Brawley Elementary School Board.  During college, Rick followed his father’s example of public service and moved to Washington, DC, to work with the staff of United States Senator Edward Kennedy.  After graduating from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, Rick served as a legislative aide for U.S. Representative Ed Roybal – an early Latino civil rights pioneer – and then as senior legislative aide for U.S. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard.

Rick worked to strengthen and improve the Community Reinvestment Act, the law that prohibits banks from ignoring underserved communities by targeting only wealthier neighborhoods with their services, and that mandates bank investment in community development.

Rick was then asked to serve as a White House legislative assistant to President Bill Clinton before joining the office of Vice President Al Gore as a deputy director of legislative affairs in 1997.  Rick served as the liaison between the Vice President and the U.S. House of Representatives. Following a 10-year career in public service in Washington, DC, Rick returned home to earn a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Southern California.

For the past five years, Rick has worked at Wells Fargo where he continues to help build up communities.  Rick is primarily responsible for a $1.0 billion portfolio of affordable housing investments, but he is also responsible for the placement of bank capital in private equity business and real estate funds that have a community development mission.  In his current role, Rick oversees the investment of roughly $150 million of bank capital per year in affordable housing units located throughout the United States, including the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.  Rick also invests roughly $15 - $25 million in private equity funds and helps to secure capital for businesses located in underserved communities.

Rick serves on the Board of Governors of the Affordable Housing Investors Council and sits on investor advisory committees for several investment entities.  He also serves as a member of the El Centro Police Advisory Board and on the Executive Committee of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation.  In addition, Rick has been involved in Big Brothers of America as well as recruitment efforts for Wells Fargo and the University of Southern California.   

Rick was born and raised in Brawley and attended local public schools.